Columbus’s discovery of America
The museum offers a number of hypotheses supporting Columbus’s Galician origins, ranging from the earliest work by Celso García de la Riega of the end of the 19th century to the most recent studies. The main arguments are the Galician placenames assigned to the geography of the discovered lands, the language Columbus used in his writings, which employed many turns of phrase typical of southern Galicia, and the presence of the surnames Colón (Columbus’s name in Spanish) and Fonterosa (maternal surname) in the area around Pontevedra at that time.
The museum consists of three buildings: two old, restored houses with ties to the Colón family, identified as the birthplace of the discoverer, and a newly built structure. The museum space, also known as A Casa da Cruz, houses a permanent exhibition with screens, models, books and videos offering abundant information about Columbus.
Nautical map of 1500
The house-museum has a replica of Columbus’s ship, the Santa Maria, and screens the “Pontevedra, birthplace of Columbus” documentary, made in 1927 by the filmmaker Enrique Barreiro, a pioneer in the Cinechrome film-colouring technique. The most notable item, however, is unquestionably a life-size reproduction (93 × 183 cm) of the nautical chart produced by the navigator Juan de La Cosa in 1500.
Museum on the Network
Along with a further 34 Galician and Portuguese museums, the Columbus House-Museum is part of the Red de Espacios Musesticos Atlánticos (Atlantic Museum Spaces Network), which specialises in maritime-related exhibits (https://www.redrema.eu/museo-casa-colon-poio-2/).
Plaza de Cristóbal Colón, S/N. Portosanto. C8JR+3Q Poio
Museum opening hours and services
Opening Hours until the end of november
** UNTIL FURTHER NEWS THE MUSEUM WILL REMAIN CLOSED**
Telephones: 986 187 172 /986 833 204/ Tel. 986 770 001 ext. 1314
Email: museocolon@concellopoio.gal
Museum social networks
Facebook @CasamuseoCristobalColon
Instagram @museocolonpoio
Twitter @MuseoColon
This Museum belongs to the “Blue Centers Network 2023” promoted by the Association of Environmental Education and Consumer ADEAC.
